


A Fairytale Holiday

by BBClock



Series: Full Moon [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, College, Fairy Tale Elements, Multi, Sex, Supernatural - Freeform, Teen Romance, The preserve, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-02-16 12:29:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13054023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBClock/pseuds/BBClock
Summary: With the Hale manor rebuilt, it is time for the pack to come home for the holidays. But someone seems to not want them to have a happy holiday...





	1. New Surroundings

The old Hale house was a project to rebuild. Derek used his inheritance to fund the construction and was constantly on site. He was bothering the crew all the time and I could only shake my head at him. We did get to move in just before Thanksgiving a year after I left NYU. The pack left NYU as well. They wanted to be closer to home like me. 

Stiles and Scott ended up at Stanford, and Allison went with them. Sophia joined Erica and Boyd at Berkeley. Because the campuses were only about 30 miles apart they decided to pool their money and rent a house halfway in between the two so they could be around each other. I made sure to maintain my truck so I could visit often. 

The campuses were not that far from home so they often came back for weekends. I was living with my dad while the house was under construction. But that year we got to move in I was beyond excited to host Christmas at the Hale house because the entire pack was spending Christmas Eve night with us so we could have the entire pack together Christmas morning. 

Lydia had been emailing me several ideas for decorating the house. I was looking at a picture she had sent me from pinterest in the living room on my laptop, when Derek found me. He was in his deputy uniform because he was working with the Sheriff. I had tipped my head to the side to get a better look. 

“Is this like the back of Mad Magazine, if you tilt your head and squint your eyes you will see the secret image?” I looked up at him with a glare but he leaned down and kissed me hello. 

“Lydia is driving me crazy. She keeps sending me decoration pictures. She wants me to fully transform the house into some form of Christmas wonderland. Of course we will have a tree in here but I have no clue what to do with the rest of the house because of the size and she offered to help me with ideas. That was the dumbest idea I had all year. 

“I have spent the last hour trying to figure out where she thinks I am going to put this stuff. I understand some of it, and she isn’t wrong, but she almost intends for us to have more evergreen in this house than should be legally allowed.” I sighed and placed my head in my hands. He sat next to me on the couch. 

“How about we take a break and turn on some music? You always feel better when you can shake the stress away.” 

“You make me sound like Taylor Swift.” He took my hand anyways and grabbed the remote for the stereo. The playlist must have been coming off my phone because Pentatonix had started. I had been listening to them earlier in the day. The speakers were switched to just the ones in the living room. 

When we rebuilt the house we added the modern toys. Speakers for music in every room, and a gourmet kitchen were just a couple of the new additions. I rested my forehead on his chest and he held my hand in his with the other around my waist in a classic dance position. The Christmas album was playing and he was swaying with me. 

“I have a question for you.” I was staring at the badge pinned to his chest. 

“I have a feeling that you have something heavy weighing on your mind.” I had been thinking about it off and on since we had finally moved in the house. I no longer had a project to occupy my mind. 

“I have been worrying that you might see me as some freeloader. I don’t have a job, I am not in school, I am just around here all day. And for a while that was fine because I was helping out with the house and such but now that we are all moved in...” I was cut off by Derek moving his hand from holding mine and putting it over my mouth. 

“You are far from a freeloader. You have worked your butt off for this house, you have been there for our pack, and whenever I have a bad day at work you are there for me. You decided that you needed to be here. You wanted to return home. If you want to do more outside the house then I fully support you. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you for making adult decisions that make you happy. There is nothing wrong with taking your time and figuring out what you want and what you are going to do.” 

He smiled at me. His words helped me feel better but there was a small seed of doubt in my mind. I am not sure if it would ever be 100 percent better, or if I would be completely happy. I had finally started to realize at this point that I would have to be okay with just the majority of my life being happy. 

I grabbed the wrist of his hand that was over my mouth and turned it so I could kiss his pulse point. I smiled at him. “I just don’t want to become useless. I might feel different about staying home when we are married and have a few kids but for now I want something else.” 

His eyes flashed alpha red. “You have no idea what you saying things like that does to me.” I batted my lashes. “On second thought, maybe you do, and that was why you said it.” I smiled at him and put my hands up around his neck. He leaned down and kissed me. I smiled in to the kiss and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. His answering growl confirmed I was pushing the right buttons. 

I was about to open some actual buttons but his cell phone went off. I groaned and put my forehead against his shoulder. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered. “Parrish, I already clocked out. I am home. You are interrupting---” He was cut short by what Jordan had said on the other side of the line. 

I trained my ears and listened in. “She is freaking out Derek. She appeared out of the preserve, but no one can tell where she started.” 

“I will be there in five.” Derek hung up and drifted away from me. “I am sorry to tell you that I have to go.” I walked away from Derek and grabbed my jacket. “What are you doing?” 

“Going with you duh.” 

“Why?” I just gave him a look. “You heard what he said.” I swung my jacket on and grabbed my boots from by the door. 

“Come on. Let’s go.” I quickly laced up my boots and Derek joined me outside by the SUV. 

It was a quick trip to the area of the woods that Parrish had mentioned. We got out and rushed over to the little crowd that had gathered by the edge of the field. Parrish was trying to get them to disperse. Once Derek joined him it was easier, two deputies instead of just one. 

“Please, everyone. We need room to do our job.” I looked over at the girl and she was cowering by a tree. She wore a red cloak wrapped around her long dress. I took a step closer but she scurried backwards. I held out my hands and tried to focus in on her. I tuned my ears to her heart beat. 

“I am not going to hurt you. I know you are scared. I just want to help you.” Her heart was jackrabbiting in her chest. I took a step closer. “Please, just let me help you.” I stepped closer again and she was still giving me a wary look, but she didn’t move farther away. I was going to take that as a good sign. 

“My name is Emilia. What’s yours?” Derek watched as I got closer to her. Parrish was still pushing back the rest of the people. “This is Derek, my boyfriend. He just wants to help you as well. We want to make sure you are okay.” 

I listened as her heart slow a bit. “I want to help you. Please tell me your name.”  She was watching me and hiding behind a tree. 

“My name is Maisie.” I smiled at her. I was trying to be as comforting as possible the girl looked to be only around ten years old. 

“Alright Maisie. Like I said, I am Emilia. I only want to help you. I promise that I only want to help you. I need you to trust me. Will you let me help you?” I stepped closer and held my hand out to her. She came out from behind the tree and reached out for my hand. The second I had a hold of her hand she tumbled forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. 

I was trying to calm her sobs when Derek joined me. He smiled at me. “We need to track her scent back to where she came from.” I nodded. Two noses were always better than one. I moved so I could look Maisie in the eyes. 

“I need to go with Derek. I promise that I will be back. You are going to go with Deputy Parrish now. He is a good man. He will take care of you I promise. I will back as soon as I can.” She first shook her head and started to grab onto me harder. I placed my hand on her cheek. “He will look after you. I will be back as soon as I can.” 

I moved my other hand to my hat. “You see this hat? I will let you keep it until I get back. This is my promise that I will come back to you.” I took it off my head and handed it over. She seemed to take my word for everything. I took a few steps back and joined Derek by the edge of the woods. 

I waved good bye to Maisie and took Derek’s hand. We walked a little bit and I started to sniff around. I pointed in the direction Maisie’s scent was coming from. We both took off running and followed the scent. 

We ended up deep into the preserve. Derek stopped with me and we looked around. I was no longer holding his hand so I was able to follow my nose. “She traveled really far. She must have been so scared.” I looked around. 

“I think I know where she started.” I followed Derek’s voice and came upon a large arch way that was formed by two trees. I was speechless at the sight of it. 

“How could that be in our woods and us not know a thing about it?” 

“Well that is a good question. I grew up here and I have never seen this before.” 

“Well, maybe we should start paying more attention.” I smiled at his glare. 


	2. What Happened to Happily Ever After?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia feels like she is responsible for Maisie. She needs to help her, and find some answers. It turns out to start in a strange place.

I walked back to the edge of the woods with Derek. We walked hand in hand. “Why would Maisie be all the way out here?” Derek asked. 

“A better question is why does she look like she is from medieval times? That dress and her cloak...” I trailed off. I thought back to her cloak. “It can’t be.” 

“What? Emilia?” Derek stopped in front of me and made me look at him. 

“Her cloak. It is such a vibrant red. She is Little Red Riding Hood.” Derek looked at me with confusion. “She is the little girl from the fairytale. When I was bitten, I read just about everything on wolves and werewolves. That was not a smart idea by the way, some of those stories caused some serious nightmares. But I read many versions of Little Red Riding Hood. One actually named the little girl in the hood. Her name is Maisie.” 

“So you think that the girl that was found on the edge of the preserve is from the fairytale? Like the little girl was torn out of the book and brought to life.” 

“She looks just like the girl from the story. Red cloak, brown hair, the long dress. She is Little Red.” I smiled at Derek. “A real life fairy tale has come to our world.” The little girl inside me was squealing with delight. 

My mother would read me fairy tales every night before bed. My favorites were always the ones with happy endings and princesses. I always used to pretend that I was magical. I could finally smile about the fact that I had become one of the creatures my mom used to tell me stories about. 

“I have never seen you be so..,.” He cut himself off. I turned back to him after my girly squeal and spin. 

“What? Finish your sentence Sourwolf.” 

“I have never seen you be so girly.” I winked at him.

“Really? I am girly all the time. Look, I have makeup on and everything.” 

“I don’t consider that girly. That is more grown up. I mean girly like child like. Little girls tend to love fairytales and magic and fairies.” 

“My mom read me fairytales as bedtime stories. I fell in love with them. They were our thing. When I was finally old enough to read, and she was sick, I would bring our book of them to the hospital and read them to her. They would make her smile.” I gave a sad smile at the thought. 

“I wouldn’t have taken you as a fairytale girl. More like a girl who can save herself.” I chuckled at his words. 

“I certainly can. But I can certainly appreciate the magic and wonderment that comes from fairytales.” I tugged on my jacket sleeve. “I think I keep the love because of my mom. It is one of the things that were special to her.” I smiled at Derek. “Let’s get back to Maisie. She seemed really scared.” 

I took his hand and we began running back to the edge of the preserve. I had grown to appreciate running through the woods even more as a wolf. The fresh air and smell that came with the plants and animals was peaceful to me. I had taken to joining Derek on his morning runs once in a while. But he knew that I was not a morning person. 

Once we got back to the edge of the woods I took out my phone. I had put it on silent so I wouldn’t be distracted while tracking. I noticed Parrish had texted me that he had taken Maisie back to our house. He thought the station might not be the best place for a girl who was from unknown origins. 

I texted him back to tell him we would head to our house and meet him there. We got back in the car and drove home. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do about Maisie. She was so scared. 

We got home and I raced out of the car and inside. Maisie was sitting with Parrish inside the living room. She had curled up in the large chair was had next to the fire place. I walked into the room and Maisie looked up at the sound. She rushed out of the chair and into my arms. 

I kneeled down so I was more at her height. I brushed the hair out of her face. “I promised I would come back. I am here now.” She buried her face in my neck. Her breath was heavy against my hair. I had it in french braids and her fear filled breath was going hard against my braid. She still had my hat in her hands. 

“I still have your hat. See?” She pulled back so she could show me the black fabric. 

“I do see. Why don’t you hold on to it while I talk with Derek and Deputy Parrish? You can sit in your chair over there and I can grab you something to drink if you would like?” She was a bit wary but she seemed to know that I wasn’t going to leave the building so she returned to the chair. 

“Can you get me some water please?” I nodded and walked with Derek and Parrish into the kitchen. I quickly filled a glass with some water from the fridge and brought it back out to her. 

“I will be right on the other side of that wall. If you need me just yell my name. Do you remember my name?” 

“Emilia.” She smiled as she spoke. Her scent was sprinkled with pride. I smiled back at her. I went back to the kitchen and joined Derek and Parrish. 

“Stiles will be home this weekend. So why don’t you have her stay here until he gets back. He can help you figure this out. Lydia will be home by then as well.” I hopped up on the counter as Parrish was speaking. I pulled Derek in front of me and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I smiled when Parrish brought up Lydia. 

“Your girlfriend wants me to put so much evergreen in this house that we will all smell like Christmas forever.” Parrish blushed. 

“She is not my girlfriend.” 

“Not for a lack of trying,” Derek spoke softly and I laughed. Parrish scowled at us. “She is interested, and you like her. What is stopping you?”

“Maybe I am a little hesitant because she lives in Boston. Incase you didn’t know, that is on the other side of the country. She probably has a guy or two over there. I don’t want to ruin her college experience by anchoring her here.” I looked at Derek from my position on the counter. We both looked at Parrish and he turned a deeper red. “I didn’t mean that you guys were going about it wrong. I mean...” Parrish cut himself off and Derek started to laugh. 

“We didn’t mean it like that man. Lydia is definitely different than Em. I mean we are also both drawn together by Lupa so...” I kissed Derek’s cheek and he turned his head so his nose was in line with mine and I was resting my forehead against his. 

“Speaking of, who is Lupa?” I smiled at Parrish’s question. 

“Lupa is the mother wolf. For us Werewolves, she was the First Alpha. She decides who is destined for who and who gains the ability to full shift. She is said to have raise Romulus and Remus, the first children of Rome.” 

“Does that make you Romans?” Derek chuckled, but I answered again. 

“We are American, duh. She is way older than the Roman Empire. She just played a part in the rise of it.” I tuned my ears to Maisie she had fallen asleep in the chair. “Well, if Maisie is going to stay here, she will need some clothes. We can say she is my cousin. I have lots of cousins that are from New York. Why don’t we wake her and show her to one of the guest rooms? She can hang out here with Derek while I go get her some clothes and shoes.” 

Parrish nodded and started to leave. I went back out to the living room with Derek. I knelt down in front of the chair Maisie was in and placed my hand on her knee. “Maisie, sweetheart, I need you to wake up.” She stirred in the chair and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled at me. “We are going to find a way to send you home but it might take a while. So you are going to stay with us until we can figure this out okay?” 

“Okay.” She looked like she was trying her best to keep up with everything that was going on. “Do you have a bed for me to sleep on? Or do I have to sleep on the floor?” 

I smiled and held out my hand for her to take. She took it and I started to lead her to the stairs. “I am thinking we have a bed upstairs for you. Do you remember seeing our house from the outside?” 

“This is your house? You live in a palace.” I smiled. She was probably used to a small shack or cottage. 

“Our house is big. We made it this big so all our family can stay here when they visit.” I climbed the stairs with Maisie and Derek. Derek pointed to the room that was closest to our room and I nodded. I opened the door and she squealed. She ran forward and landed on the bed. I couldn’t help but laugh. “You can sleep in this room. Derek and I sleep just down the hall so if you need anything at night, you can come get us.” 

I moved into the room and sat on the bed with her. “I am going to go and buy you some clothes. As you can see I am not dressed like you. For you to be safe in our world, we will need to dress you like the other little girls in our world. You will stay here with Derek until I get back. You can trust Derek. I promise to come back. I will be as quick as I can.” She nodded. I waved Derek over. I took his hand and smiled. 

“Derek will be around the house. If you need him for anything, just yell out his name.” Derek bent down so he was eye to eye with her. 

“So Maisie, would you like to read a book? Or would you like to see what the kids in this world do for fun?” I saw the mischievous look in his eye. He was going to show her the TV. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas may be over, but I still want to write this story. I hope you still enjoy the holiday feel with my story with it. Thoughts and Kudos are always welcome....


	3. Unknown Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get some modern clothes for Maisie. She needs to blend in a bit.

We quickly took measurements of Maisie and quickly translated it to sizes. She was a bit smaller than the average ten year old in our world. I drove into San Francisco and started to look in a children’s store. I had been texting Allison and Erica off and on through the day and they were complaining about finals. I hadn’t mentioned Maisie, I didn’t want to distract them from their studies. 

San Francisco was only a half hour away from Beacon Hills. Far enough away that we were not considered a suburb, but close enough that it was a nice shopping trip. 

I was aiming to get a few outfits for Maisie. She would more than likely need more than one, but not a new wardrobe. I grabbed a few sweatshirts that had no graphics on the front because I didn’t know Maisie’s personality. 

My phone went off with Derek’s text tone. I opened the text to find a picture of Maisie sitting in rapt attention in front of the tv. He had put on a movie, and I really could only tell that because he had included a caption. “Put a movie on for her. She thinks I am magic.” I texted back a smiley emoji. 

I got a pack of socks and a few pairs of leggings. I figured the more stretchy pants would be easier for her to fit in. Jeans were never easy to buy for the non present party. I went over to a table that had t-shirts on it and started to pick through some. 

I grabbed the staples, one white, and one black. Then I found one on the table that had California Girl written on it. I had to smile because I had one just like it when I was little. It was a simple white tee with a beach image and the wording on it. 

I sent a picture of it to Derek and he sent me back a smile emoji. He had gotten used to texting with me, and using emojis. Every time he used them, I couldn’t help but giggle. He was only six years older than me, but he seemed much older when it came to tech. He didn’t grow up as immersed in it as I was. A born wolf spends much of their childhood outside. 

I walked up to the cash register and checked out quickly. I put the bags in the passenger side of my truck. I drove to another store that was closer to home. In our local mall, the same one that I went shopping with Allison all those years ago. 

I double checked the sizes we had decided on for shoes as I walked into the store. I walked over to the children’s shoes and started to figure out what shoes to pick. I was thinking that I should get some tennis shoes, the multifunctional shoe. I found some basic black sport tennis shoes. I caught sight of a pair of red converse knock offs. I couldn’t leave them on the shelf. 

I was walking out of the store, and heading back to my truck when I noticed a familiar scent waft pass me. I turned and noticed my Dad was walking around with a woman I didn’t recognize. I wasn’t sure what to think. They were holding hands. 

I had a battle inside myself but eventually walked over to him. I didn’t act like I had just seen him. He would have seen right through me. I stepped into his path and tried to keep calm. He was laughing at something she had said when he spotted me. He looked a little shocked. “Em.” 

“Hi Dad.” He turned to the woman and tried to recover some composure. 

“Emilia, this is Lucy. Lucy, this is my daughter Emilia.” I smiled at Lucy, I had been raised with manners. My dad was trying to figure out what to do next. “Em, Lucy is my girlfriend.” I nodded. 

I had mixed feelings. I had only seen my dad with my mom. I knew that he would eventually move on, he deserved to be happy. I was feeling a bit upset because I always wanted my parents to be together. My mom would have wanted him to be happy though.  

“It is nice to meet you. I am glad my dad has someone to make him smile like that.” My words made my dad do a double take. 

“Lucy, would you mind if I talked to my daughter in private for a moment?” She smiled at me and him. 

“Go ahead. I will be in the kitchen store right over there.” She pointed down the hall and walked away. My dad guided me over to a bench and we sat down. 

“I am sorry you had to find out like this. I will always love your mom, you know that. But she said to me when she entered the hospital that final time, that she wanted me to find someone again. I was very against it to begin with. I didn’t want her to give up.”

I held out my hand and put it on his arm. He stopped talking and looked at me. “Dad, I am going to be completely honest with you. I was a little hurt, for two reasons. First one is because I will always want you and mom together, but obviously you deserve to move on and be happy. And the second is, that I wish you would have told me and that I wouldn’t have had to find out this way. 

“I understand you wanting to be happy. Mom has been gone for five years

now and I am not upset with you for moving on. I wish you had my hearing right now, you could hear how I am not lying at all, no blips in my heart.” He was tearing up a bit. I hugged him. He held me tightly. 

“I am so glad that you feel like that. I feel a bit guilty for not trusting my gut and telling you. Mom and I did a pretty good job with you.” He kissed my temple in the hug. I smiled and kissed his cheek. 

“You did a great job. Now get back to your girlfriend. I will call you tonight.” He blushed a bit and smiled. After one more quick kiss to my forehead he walked off to find Lucy. I sat on the bench for a little while longer. I knew that I would have to be getting back to Derek and Maisie soon but I needed to collect myself. “He seems really happy Mom. I will always have your relationship at heart but I think you would agree that he deserves this.” I spoke softly while holding my locket. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for being so patient with my updates. I have just started a new semester, but managed to get my classes set up so I don't have any on Fridays! Hopefully this mean more writing time.   
> Thoughts and Kudos are always welcome...


	4. Thinking About Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek tries to figure out what is up with Emilia

I returned home and Derek helped me with the bags from shopping. I sat Maisie down in the room we said she could use while she was staying with us. She was on the bed and I started to lay out the clothes. “This is what girls in your world wear?” I smiled at her hesitance. Nodding, I started to show her how to put on some of the items. She would be picking out her outfit each day, since had she grown up in our world, she would have been choosing her clothes for a few years by that point. 

After a little bit of dress up, I left her to figure out what she wanted to wear. Derek followed me out of the room and down the hall to our room. He knew something was off with me. So when I sat down on the bed, he sat beside me. “You are confused and hurt. Tell me why?” 

“When I was at the mall, shopping for shoes for Maisie, I saw my dad. He was with a woman. They were holding hands and laughing. I moved over to them, and said hi. He introduced her to me. Her name is Lucy. She is my dad’s girlfriend.” 

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Derek put an arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?” 

“I am a bit shocked. I knew deep down that he would eventually move on, start dating again. But, in my heart it will always be him and my mom. There is a bit of pain deep inside that feels like he is betraying her. I know that he isn’t, that he should be happy. But it shocked me.”

Derek moved his arm off my shoulder and took my hand. He gave it a squeeze. “I don’t know how you are feeling. I never saw my parents date other people. But I know what it’s like to only see your parents together. I could never imagine my parents seeing other people. From what you told me, your parents had a storybook love. Met in college, fell in love, got married, had you, then supported each other through your mom being sick.” 

I smiled as he listed off the facts that I had told him. It touched me that he remembered so well. I squeezed his hand back and stood up. “Thank you for remembering.” 

“Why would I forget something the woman I love told me that matters to her?” I smiled. I moved to the door and out into the hall. Maisie was still playing with her clothes in her room, so I went downstairs and started on dinner. We were planning on getting pizza, because it was a Friday. I was hesitant to order pizza because of Maisie not being used to that type of food. 

Derek came into the kitchen and he saw the thinking look on my face. “What now?” I smiled at his fake exasperated tone. 

“I don’t think we can do our traditional Friday night pizza. Maisie won’t even know what it is.” 

“But I was really looking forward to it. Maybe she would be willing to try something new?” 

“Maybe. Why don’t you go ask?” Derek walked away and I pulled out my phone to text my dad about the possibility of getting together for lunch the coming week so I could get to know Lucy more. 

Derek came back into the kitchen and smiled at me. “She said she would be willing to try it. Maybe add an only cheese one to our usual order, so she can try the basic version.” I nodded. Opening my contacts, I called the local pizza place and got our usual. Since Beacon Hills was such a small town, they knew my usual order and were a bit surprised that I ordered an additional cheese pizza. 

“Do you two have a guest tonight?” The man who ran the pizzeria had a daughter who went to high school with me. I had been invited to several of her sleep overs and birthday parties. 

“One of my little cousins is visiting.” I hung up shortly after and found that my dad had texted me back saying that he was looking forward to having lunch with his girls. That made me smile. “Pizza has been ordered,” I called out to Derek. He yelled back an affirmative so I knew he had heard me. 

I leaned back against the counter and took a deep breath. It had been an eventful day. But my life had been like that ever since I got bit and entered the crazy world of the supernatural. Being the mate to an Alpha certainly didn’t help limit my involvement. Derek was getting more involved in the community, like his mom was. I was so proud of him for trying to live up to the Hale name and make his mom proud. He would get doubts in his mind about how his mom and Laura would feel about how he was handling being an Alpha. I often reminded Derek that his mom would be proud of him for the alpha he had become, and that Laura would be just as proud. He was doing great. 

Another thing I would often ask about would be Derek’s dad. His dad was a bitten wolf, like me. But as the mate to an Alpha, he had the same role that I had fallen into. I wanted to make sure I was giving Derek the support he needed, not only as a wolf mate to an Alpha, but as his girlfriend. There are never any movies, or how to books about how to be a good mate..... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is going on?! An actual chapter update?! I am shocked as well. I hope you all have been bearing with me as I struggle to get inspiration for this story. Hopefully I can have it finished by this holiday season.


	5. Reading Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the end of a very long day...

Maisie ended up loving the pizza. She settled in well, with only a few bumps. Lots of questions were asked, both by Maisie and by Derek and me. 

We asked her about what had happened before she was in our world. She had almost told the Red Riding Hood story exactly. As she was speaking, I shared a look with Derek. I had been right about Maisie being from a story book. Maisie had asked us questions about our world. They were certainly questions that a little kid would think up because she was curious about the littlest things. 

After dinner, I washed the dishes as Derek dried. This had become a routine for us on Friday nights. Maisie sat at the table still, and was watching us. I would have been creeped out but she was just trying to figure our world out. “What would you like to do for a bit before bed?” I asked her. 

“Derek showed me the TV earlier. Could we watch that?” I smiled at her question. Derek chuckled under his breath. 

“Why don’t we watch a movie? It is like a tv show, but much longer.” She nodded and jumped out of her chair. She scampered off to the living room and I smiled again. Watching her move around in such a happy manner, after all she had been through, was a wonder. I turned to Derek and he was smiling at me. “What is going on in your head?” 

“Watching you with Maisie has been making me think about us one day, when we have kids.” 

“So, how many do you want?” I leaned back against the counter and wiped my wet hands with the spare hand towel. 

“Would it be too many if we had four or five?” I felt a bit of shock at the number. It must have shown on my face, because Derek started to back pedal. “I was just thinking that it would be nice to have noise in this house again, like when I was a kid. I had three siblings.” 

“I only had myself. I had a sibling dynamic with Stiles and Scott, but we all were only children.” I thought about the rest of the pack and realized that most of the younger members were only children. Boyd and Erica where the only ones with siblings. Boyd had a younger sister and Erica had an older brother and sister. 

“We don’t have to have so many kids.” Derek looked like he was trying to conceal how he was really feeling. 

“Derek, you need to stop trying to just make me happy. I need to know your feelings on things because this is a partnership. I was thinking two or three kids, but maybe we can start there and see how we feel about more?” Derek put down his towel and turned to me. With only two steps he was in front of me and took my hands in his. 

“We can start there and see how we get on. That sounds like a good plan to me.” He looked down at our joined hands and then back up to my face. “I feel like I need to make you happy over me sometimes.”

“We are partners, mates. You don’t have to put me before you.” He looked back down at our hands. “We are equals. I will keep reminding you of that until my last breath.” He smiled and leaned in. We shared a short kiss and when we seperated, we moved to the living room to watch the movie with Maisie. 

She had no idea what movie to watch, so I picked out a disney classic, Little Mermaid. She enjoyed the experience. I mostly watched her, because she reacted to everything. She was seeing the magic for the first time, and it was fascinating to watch her. 

Soon after the movie was over, Derek took Maisie up to bed and I locked up for the night. They wouldn’t do much against supernatural creatures but it might deter some humans. 

Derek’s childhood home was large to say the least. Many people lived there while he was growing up and they were well off to begin with. Money was only one of the perks of being one of the most powerful packs in America.The size of the home surely made it a target for those who would rob a house. 

I would only use my own money for things that I wanted. If they were meant for the house or the pack, Derek insisted that I use his money. This fact had led to a few arguments between us, but we never remained mad long. Even mates had problems that needed to be worked on. Lupa may have made us for each other but that didn’t mean we were never without problems. 

I moved upstairs and into the bedroom, and found Derek changing into his pajamas. He had only gotten his sleeping pants out and was taking off his shirt when I walked in. “Now that is a sight that I can get used to.” He chuckled and turned to face me in just his jeans. 

“Well we have been together for over a year, so I hope you like what you see. Got to keep you interested somehow.” I leaned against the wall and leered at him. I raked my eye over his abs and down his legs. He smiled at me and did a playful spin. 

“Man, you are pretty.” I sighed as I spoke. Putting my hand against my heart, I pretend swooned. The whole moment made both of us laugh. I moved away from the wall and made my way over to the closet to get my own pajamas. That night I went with an old t-shirt that I had stolen from my dad. It was a fire station shirt. Pairing it with some shorts, I quickly was changed and slipping under the covers on the bed. 

“Today was a very long day.” I plugged my phone in to charge as I spoke. “It feels like Maisie arrived weeks ago.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Today was so jam packed. Once everyone comes home, they will help us figure out what is going on. We only have to get through tomorrow, and the day after, the pack will be back.” 

I nodded along as Derek spoke and pulled the covers up as I laid down. Derek joined me under the blankets and I shifted closer to him. It had become a part of our nightly routine for me to cuddle closer to him. It certainly helped both of us sleep. 

Derek always ended up with his nose in the crook of my neck. I always started the night with my ear over his heart. This helped me fall asleep. After such a long day, it wasn’t long before I drifted off for the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another chapter. I have been working on this word by word for a long time. Slowly progress has been made. Hopefully you can stick with me for the rest of the story. 
> 
> Progress will slowly be made...

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts and kudos are always welcome


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